Is Obama Playing Rope-a-Dope?  —  Here was the headline on Yahoo from Wednesday night: Obama bows to Boehner on jobs speech.  —  I can tell you what any progressive who has been paying attention thought, “Oh boy, here we go again.”  —  President Obama has now changed the day of his address to Congress to accommodate the Republicans.

Perry 44% Obama 41%; President Leads Other GOP Hopefuls  —  For the first time this year, Texas Governor Rick Perry leads President Obama in a national Election 2012 survey.  Other Republican candidates trail the president by single digits.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone …

Obama Rolls Out a Jobs Plan That Doesn't Need Congress  —  The president has asked federal agencies to find solutions on their own.  His message to lawmakers: We can do this without you.  —  President Obama is either fed up with Congress or he's testing his own administration's mettle.  Or both.

Pima County Repubs Raffle Glock As Fundraiser; Same Gun Type Used in Tucson Shooting … Talk about a killer gimmick.  —  An Arizona Republican fundraiser is offering as a prize the same type of gun used in the attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

White House downgrades 2012 jobs, economic forecasts; cites ‘turbulence’  —  The Obama administration downgraded its forecast for economic growth Thursday, predicting turmoil in the economy will likely keep unemployment above 9 percent through next year's election.

Perry Proposed A Bi-National Health Insurance Plan With Mexico In 2001  —  Gov. Perry with then-Mexican President Vincente Fox.  —  The ghosts of Gov. Rick Perry's (R-TX) more moderate past have come back to haunt him in recent days, particularly when it comes to health care.

Dude!  Free weed lying on San Jose street snatched up by bystanders  —  It was a pot head's dream: Free marijuana lying on the street for the taking, without a cop in sight.  —  San Jose police say a truck illegally carrying marijuana crashed and ended up on its side near Oakridge Mall early Wednesday …

Florida Republicans Fight To Keep ‘Cohabitation’ Of Unmarried Couples Illegal  —  Thousands of unmarried couples who are living together in Florida may be surprised to learn that they are actually breaking the law.  Under outdated and rarely enforced state laws that have been on the books since …

Is The Great Recession Forcing Graduates Of Elite Colleges Into A Desperate Life Of Rockstardom?  —  As we saw yesterday, the recession's bite has been broad, including on the earnings of recent college graduates.  But this seems to be going a bit far:

The 2011 New Establishment List: And the Top Spot Goes to...  This year's New Establishment list identifies the top 50 of an innovative new breed of buccaneering visionaries, engineering prodigies, and entrepreneurs—"The Age of Information gives way to a burgeoning Age of Technology," as Graydon Carter puts it.

FEMA'S use of term ‘federal family’ for government expands under Obama  —  Posted: 6:17 p.m. Wednesday, Augt.  31, 2011  —  Don't think of it as the federal government but as your “federal family.”  —  In a Category 4 torrent of official communications during the approach and aftermath …

Obama and the Burden of Exceptionalism  —  Post-'60s liberals, with the president as their standard bearer, seek to make a virtue of decline.  —  If I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times: President Obama is destroying the country.  Some say this destructiveness is intended …

Justice Department Tougher On Abortion Protesters … The Obama Justice Department has been taking a more aggressive approach against people who block access to abortion clinics, using a 1994 law to bring cases in greater numbers than its predecessor.  —  The numbers are most stark when it comes …

Deputy mayor quit after being busted for domestic violence  —  The blizzard didn't bury him — roughing up his wife did.  —  Former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith — who drew sharp criticism for bungling the Christmas storm that shut down the city — actually resigned in disgrace after his wife …

GOP Israel group launches New York campaign  —  The fact that both candidates in Anthony Weiner's old Democratic-leaning district have criticized Obama on Israel offers the Emergency Committee for Israel some fodder.  —  The video is part of a broader campaign the group is in New York City that's expected …

The Freelance Surge Is the Industrial Revolution of Our Time  —  Welcome to the Gig Life.  The boom in independent work is changing the way we think about jobs and careers.  Does Washington get it?  —  REUTERS  —  It's been called the Gig Economy, Freelance Nation, the Rise of the Creative Class …

Primary Status: Huntsman camp confirms firing of NH campaign manager  —  THURSDAY, SEPT. 1 UPDATE: FIRING CONFIRMED.  The Huntsman campaign has just confirmed our report below that state campaign manager Ethan Eilon has been fired and that Sarah Crawford Stewart will take over many aspects of the job.

TURNER VS. WEPRIN - IN THEIR OWN WORDS  —  By: … The Jewish Press: You're running in a heavily Democratic district, yet a recent poll showed you ahead by just 6 points.  —  Weprin: Turner ran [last] November and got 40 percent [against Anthony Weiner] and this latest poll has him at 42 percent - just a two-point increase.

Lieberman: Obama's concern with offending Muslims hurts war effort  —  The Obama administration's fear of offending Muslims will hurt the U.S. war against terrorism, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Thursday in a speech blasting the president's new counterterrorism strategy.

Poll: 65% Give Obama Thumbs Down On Economy  —  Just 28% Of Americans Polled Say Things Are Going Well  —  (CNN) — Only a third of all Americans approve of how President Barack Obama is handling the economy, according to a new national survey.  —  And with a CNN/ORC International Poll …

WikiLeaks: Iraqi children in U.S. raid shot in head, U.N. says  —  This cell phone photo was shot by a resident of Ishaqi on March 15, 2006, of bodies Iraqi police said were of children executed by U.S. troops after a night raid there.  A State Department cable obtained by WikiLeaks quotes …

Iceland Exits  —  Iceland is no longer under an IMF program; here's the IMF report (pdf) pronouncing the adjustment program successful.  Indeed.  Iceland still has high unemployment and is a long way from a full recovery; but it's no longer in crisis, it has regained access to international capital markets …